Page 20 - OHS, September 2023

PPE: CONSTRUCTION Addressing an Overlooked Danger Why current helmet standards must be updated to account for rotational motion, a key cause of concussions on construction jobsites. BY JOE BRANDEL Those in the construction industry are responsible for building the places where we spend our lives, but they continue to face some of the greatest risks on the job. In the U.S. construction industry alone, a total of 21,400 non- fatal workplace injuries and illnesses were caused by slips, trips and falls in 20201. These types of accidents can lead not only to severe injuries but fatalities as well: Between 2003 and 2008, one of the leading causes of occupational fatalities caused by a traumatic brain injury (TBI) falls at 29 percent.2 While the Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that head protection must be worn by employees at risk of head injury from impact, falling objects, electrical shock, or burns, construction workers are still at risk while on the job. Furthermore, where you work can have an impact on your safety as well. Workers at small construction companies with 20 employees or less are over 2.5 times more likely than those in fiberglass were developed before plastic hard hats were introduced in 1951. Helmets have since been updated to include attachments larger companies to experience fatal TBIs3. for face shields, hearing protection, integrated eyewear and rated Understanding the Risk chinstraps. Yet the helmet remains similar to those of the 1900s. One of the most important steps that both employers and employees can take is to understand the risks involved in TBIs. Today’s PPE Simply put, traumatic brain injuries are injuries that affect how The two helmet types under the ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 standard the brain functions. There are three types of TBIs: mild, moderate include Type I and Type II helmets. Type I helmets are designed and severe. Some types of TBIs can lead to temporary issues, such to reduce the force of impact to the top of the wearers’ head, while as how a person thinks, communicates, or moves, while long- Type II helmets, in turn, are designed to reduce the force of a side term TBIs can cause permanent disability or death. (lateral) impact resulting from a blow that may be off center, in Accidents such as slips, trips and falls can be critical: When addition to the top of the head. Then there are three classes of a person’s head makes an impact with the ground or an object, helmets: G, general; E, electrical; and C, conductive. research shows that this typically occurs at an angle, exposing Currently, helmets undergo five performance tests which must them to rotational motion. Rotational motion is the combination be met in order to assign safety helmets their classification under of rotational forces (angular acceleration) and rotational energy the ANSI/ISEA Z89.1 standard. These consist of impact energy (angular velocity) potentially resulting from oblique impacts to attenuation, flammability, force transmission, apex penetration, the head. When rotational motion is transferred to the brain, the and electrical insulation. Force transmission tests determine brain can start to deform, which may cause shearing and damage whether helmets are able to reduce the force of linear impact to the brain’s axons or cable transmitters of the neurons. to the crown of the head. Furthermore, energy attenuation tests Rotational motion can lead to diffuse injuries, including analyze a larger protective area of the helmet, including linear diffuse axonal injury and subdural hematoma, while linear impacts to the front, rear, and sides of the helmet. injuries (injuries that occur from straight impacts to the head) However, none of the current tests involved determine can cause focal injuries, including fractures and contusions. It’s the impact of rotational motion to the wearer’s head. While notable that in most real-life accidents, both linear and rotational some standards in the sports and moto industries are starting motion occurs, leading to a greater potential risk of injury 4 5. to take rotational motion into account in their standards, the construction industry has yet to apply such tests. The History of Hard Hats In the construction industry today, many employers require Type II helmets, which can include chinstraps, be worn on Today’s helmets and hard hats are not very different than what jobsites. This is an improvement from Type I helmets, which they were over 100 years ago. Hard hats date back to World War I, when the United States was building ships for the Navy, and the seldom include chinstraps, and, therefore, often fail to protect the worker’s head in cases of slips, trips and falls, as the helmets risks Hard-Boiled Hard Hat was made out of boiled leather and metal falling off of the wearer’s head. Despite providing greater safety in 1919. In 1928, an inner suspension was created, intended to help absorb the impact from dropped objects. Over the course compared to Type I helmets, most of today’s Type II helmets fail to account for rotational motion and its harmful effects. of the 1930s and 40s, helmets made out of aluminum and then Ground Picture/Shutterstock.com 20 Occupational Health & Safety | SEPTEMBER 2023 www.ohsonline.com